May 24, 2006
Tennis Anyone?
Finally had the chance to see a few movies. “Match Point” I found intriguing.
The opening scene and narrartive depicts a tennis ball striking the top of the net and falling lazily over to the opposite side. The few Woody Allen films I’ve seen before flaunt the same elements as this dark portrayal of “luck” - obsession, desperation, class struggle, neurosis. Instead of Allen’s oft-used canyons of New York, the charming English countryside and elegant London settings fare well as the battleground of the crusty upper class when invaded by the former tennis pro, lower class, Chris Wilton, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Infidelity saunters in as Chris begins instructing the socialite brother of his soon-to-be wife, Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), on the finer points of tennis, only to begin to backhand him and hone in on his student’s neurotic fiance, Nola Rice, fittingly portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. At first, flirting. Then turning to obsession. Finally, wild adultery. All turning very sinister.
A calming thread to the tense drama is the love of Opera shared by the players as they escape to the London Opera House to “chill.”
The film is as much about usery as it is about luck. Everybody uses everybody. The hungry Chris uses the rich family to climb the societal ladder. Chloe (Chris’ wife played by Emily Mortimer) uses Chris to fulfil her obsession with having children. Entreprenurial father of Tom and Chloe, Alec (Brian Cox), uses Chris to occupy his daughter, build his business and satisfy his craving to keep the family financially fortified. Nola eventually uses Chris as human Prozac. It all climaxes in an ending that is shocking. And evil.
What this movie does is reaffirm that sometimes in life evil wins out over good in a big way and the ball will fall over the net in favor of the evildoer.
Rick
Filed under: General Ramblings, Movies that Moved Me
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